Max didn’t stop running until his legs finally betrayed him, dropping him to one knee in the cool darkness of the jungle. His chest heaved, lungs burning as he fought to get enough air. The anger came next — hot and relentless, washing over the fading adrenaline in a wave that left his hands trembling.

  They’d ambushed him. In his sleep. They’d followed him all the way back to his shelter, found him in the one place he thought was safe. If he hadn’t had the storage ring, he’d still be in that cell — or worse.

  Max forced himself to pull up his quest window, hoping maybe the escape, the kills, something had pushed it forward. Nothing. The progress bar sat exactly where it had before. His jaw clenched. If the system wasn’t going to give him an update, then he’d make his own progress.

  He tightened his grip on his staff and stood, every muscle screaming at him to rest. He ignored it. They want to hunt me? Fine. I’ll burn their world down.

  The camp was still lit when he saw it again, torchlight flickering through the trees. Goblin voices carried on the night air, sharp barks and guttural grunts. Max crouched low, mana already gathering in his hands. He pictured the camp — the tents, the walls, the narrow paths between — and he started with the front gate.

  The first Fireball exploded against it with the force of a battering ram, wood splintering and scattering in a spray of embers. Goblins scrambled, shouting, as flames licked across the crude barricades. The second Fireball roared into the center of the camp, detonating with enough heat to melt iron. A shockwave of fire and ash rolled outward, swallowing everything in a thirty-foot radius.

  [XP Awarded]

  [Credits Earned: 1,650] (15 kills – Level 11 Goblins)

  Screams echoed through the smoke. Some goblins grabbed weapons and charged toward the breach, but Max was already on the move. His boots crunched over charred debris as he advanced, loosing another Fireball into a knot of defenders near the cooking pits. The blast sent pots of boiling stew flying, their contents hissing into the scorched ground.

  A spear whistled past his ear. Max pivoted, swinging his staff low to sweep the legs out from under a goblin that had slipped through the flames. The creature hit the dirt, snarling, but a swift downward strike from the staff silenced it.

  The air was a choking mix of ash and burnt meat, making his eyes water. Shadows danced against the smoke, goblins darting in and out of view as they tried to regroup. A pair of archers loosed arrows from behind an overturned cart, forcing Max to duck. He retaliated with two quick, smaller Fireballs, each one finding its mark and sending the cart toppling over in a burning heap.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  [XP Awarded]

  [Credits Earned: 1,200] (10 kills – Level 12 Goblins)

  A flash of movement caught his eye — a small figure darting between the burning wreckage. Slim. Wiry. Familiar. The goblin from the cell. Max froze for a heartbeat, the firelight catching the wide, terrified eyes staring back at him. The goblin clutched something to his chest — not a weapon, but a small bundle of belongings. Max lowered his staff. “Go.” The goblin didn’t hesitate. He turned and vanished into the smoke, gone before Max could even take another step.

  The battle didn’t pause. A deep roar sounded from somewhere to his left, and a trio of goblins charged through the flames, their crude armor glowing from the heat. Max’s mana reserves were draining fast, but he channeled enough for a cone of fire that swept across them, sending them tumbling into the dirt like burning scarecrows. One managed to crawl forward a few feet before collapsing, armor sizzling.

  The center of camp was chaos now — tents collapsing as flames ate through the supports, barrels bursting from the heat, weapons warping and twisting in the inferno. Max stepped over a smoldering shield, spotted a cluster of goblins huddled near the supply racks, and unleashed another massive Fireball. The racks and everything around them disappeared in a blossom of white-hot flame.

  [XP Awarded]

  [Credits Earned: 650] (5 kills – Level 13 Goblins)

  By the time Max was done, the camp was little more than a charred skeleton. Smoke curled into the night sky, thick and black. Every tent, every weapon rack, every supply pile was reduced to ash or molten slag.

  Max stood in the center of it, chest heaving, staff still glowing faintly from the heat of repeated casting. His mana reserves ached from the drain, but he didn’t care. This was what happened when they came for him.

  As he turned away from the ruin and disappeared into the jungle’s dark embrace, the adrenaline began to fade, leaving him with the raw truth. The goblins had been able to follow him home. They’d studied his movements, watched him long enough to strike at the one time he’d been too tired to react. If he didn’t adapt, if he didn’t make his defenses stronger, the next time might be his last. Revenge felt good — necessary even — but it wasn’t enough. Not if he wanted to survive long enough to finish this quest.

  He slowed once he was deep enough into the jungle to be sure no pursuit was coming. His breathing was ragged, and his arms felt like they’d been weighted with stone. The mana cost of the night’s destruction was unlike anything he’d ever burned through before — his core felt hollow, drained to the point where even forming a spark of magic would be painful.

  And yet, even in his exhaustion, Max couldn’t ignore the truth: he had just wiped an entire fortified camp off the map… by himself. Weeks ago, the idea of facing even a handful of armed enemies at once would have been unthinkable. Now, he had walked into a stronghold, unleashed a barrage of spells, and left nothing behind but embers.

  A slow, grim smile crept across his face. The power was there now — real, tangible, terrifying power — but so was the cost. He couldn’t abuse it recklessly, not without risking collapse mid-battle. Still… it felt good to know that when the time came, he could level an entire camp if he had to.

  Max pulled up his quest window one more time. The progress bar shifted.

  [Quest Updated – Progress: +1]

  “Good,” he murmured. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”